Trust Me PS I Love You
by DepressionRae
Summary: It's finally happened; Savos Aren is dead, the Eye of Magnus is being taken away by the Psijic Order, and Vyni is the new Arch-Mage. However, before he can even come to terms with that, it is discovered that Ancano - Vyni's secretive lover - survived the blast, but is severely injured - and he has no memory of anything from before Saarthal.


**Hey Y'ALL! If you're here from It's Complicated, welcome! If you only just now found this, welcome! This AU is kind of based on a glitch where Ancano (in Vyni's game) wouldn't die even after everything was done (I ended up having to redo that part of the questline twice over for the glitch to stop lmao). **

**And also because I love giving redemption arcs to power hungry bastards like Ancano. This one hinges mostly on Vyni being super forgiving and also because (if you've read IC you'll know) he was sleeping with Ancano and he's a major thot so he caught feelings.**

**WARNING there is some mentions of severe injuries, death, addiction and past abuse. Basically Vyni reveals some of his backstory. More feelings are caught. Ancano is a dumb sad bitch. Vyni remains a thot.**

**Please enjoy and leave some feedback if you could! (Only the first chapter, and should note that right now Vyni is in a very mature headspace, which, knowing him, won't actually last that long. Slightly OOC for Ancano, but I don't care. He'll get back to being a prickly bastard next chapter, I just want them to be soft for this one, as one is trying to the authority while the other is just confused and hurt.)**

* * *

Saarthal should have remained buried. The Eye of Magnus should never have been brought to the College. He should've kept Ancano occupied, distracted from the thing stressing them both out, and instead he'd ghosted on the Altmer, running around for the Arch-Mage and the Psijic Order. He ignored the red flags and now the Arch-Mage was dead, Mirabelle was dead, and he was the new Arch-Mage according to Tolfdir.

Vyni could only stand there, hands clenched into fists and just glaring at the idly spinning orb. The Psijic Order would be taking it away, to ensure this wouldn't happen again, but that didn't change the fact that two people were dead - three. Three people. Turning just slightly, he could the crumpled form of Ancano, across the room. Did he have family? Why would he do this? Had Vyni not been enough for the Altmer, did he have to go and try and control this thing and let it kill him?

The other mages were busy, trying to pick up the pieces and talk to the Order; Vyni, however, moved towards his dead lover, intending to...mourn. Just as he reached him, the Bosmer noticed the faint, weak movement of his chest. It had to be a trick of the light, right? No...

"He's still alive." Vyni breathed a sigh of relief, which quickly turned into a shocked gasp when Urag pushed past him, grabbing the Altmer by the singed lapels of his robes. Acting on instinct, he pulled the old orc back, ignoring the look of surprise aimed at him - a look that morphed into unbridled rage.

"He should be dead! He killed two people and he knew what he was doing!"

"I'm aware of that, Urag, but if he's alive, he needs to be turned over to the proper authorities." Vyni hated how dull his voice sounded, how his chest hurt at the idea of his lover rotting in a cell for this. The College was neutral ground, and he knew, technically speaking, that he was now the proper authority. But what would he even do? Banish the Altmer? Punish him? Brand him as a betrayer and a murderer?

Urag went to speak again, but Vyni shook his head and stared at the orc with pained, but firm eyes; there was the flash of understanding, like Urag knew exactly what thoughts were going through the Bosmer's head. He backed off. A moment later, and Vyni heard Urag and Tolfdir ushering the others out of the room. Without the Eye hanging above him, he found the place to be devoid of warmth, the stone floor freezing, even through his mage robes and gloves. He didn't bother to cast any spells for warmth, either. The cold gave him a calmness he would no doubt need.

"...V-...Vyni?" Ah, so he was awake?

"I'm here." The Altmer sounded weak, and when Vyni reached to pulled the tall man into his lap, he was startled to find that nearly the entire back of Ancano had been burned through; his hand came away with blood on it, and he felt sick. As for the man himself, he didn't seem to be aware that he was hurt, simply laying his head against Vyni's stomach.

For a moment, he let Ancano rest against him, running healing spells over the burns on his back and murmuring pleasant things to keep him from figuring it out. For all he knew, his lover was dying and he was wasting his magic. Still, he wasn't about to give up. He had questions. Doubts. Vyni wanted answers and there was only one man who could give those to him. So he persisted with the spells, at least until the injuries stopped bleeding and he could gently apply a health potion, then a bandage from his discarded bag.

"Is it...night time..." Ancano's whispered question had him pausing, eyes drawn to the bright light spilling in through the large windows.

"N...no. Um, what do you see?" Vyni stroked his hand over the Altmer's hair, which had had at least a few inches burned off by that last blast of magic from the Eye. He wasn't sure what reply he would get, and it seemed to take the man a while to speak again.

"Nothing. I...Vy-Vyni...I can't see anything..." Oh. Shit.

Trying to be gentle, the Bosmer lifted Ancano's chin. His heart sank when he saw that those once molten gold eyes were now pale and cloudy, eyes now surrounded by more burns and cuts.

"The Eye must of blinded you..."

"The...The Eye?"

"Of Magnus? You wanted to use it for the Thalmer?" Confusion settled into the Altmer's expression, brow furrowing before he winced and slowly brought up a hand to gently touch the burnt flesh of his face.

"I don't...recall anything of that. Wh-what happened?" Blindness, amnesia...was the way of some deity giving them another chance? There was no way to punish someone who couldn't remember their own crime! And it would be beyond cruel to just exile the Altmer, too. Sending a weakened blind man out into a a world that was going to hate him no matter what happened?

"I'll tell you later. Just...rest for now, Ancano, ok?"

* * *

"Are you sure its safe for him to stay, Arch-Mage?" Vyni turned from where he was watching Ancano be looked over by Colette, finding Onmund standing behind him. A part of him didn't want to talk, but the part of him that had become attached to the Nord was relieved to see a friendly face in the aftermath of the Eye.

"Well, do you propose we throw him out to the streets?"

"No, of course not. After what he's done, though, we're sure to get a lot of other Thalmer and assassins..." Onmund was right; in this state, Ancano wouldn't be able to make any kind of report to his superiors, and plenty of the people - both in the College and in the town - were not happy with him. But at the same time...

"We'll figure it out. I'll figure it out. I'm sure the Thalmer will understand that Ancano won't be able to work, at least for awhile." Colette shot the two men a dirty look, turning back to her patient without speaking; Vyni got the hint, though, and stood up. With a flick of his hand, he stepped outside the room with Onmund right on his heels.

Just outside the room, he was surprised to find his other two friends standing outside, their head close together as they whispered. They stopped as soon as they saw the Bosmer, looking almost ashamed.

"Err, how is Ancano, Arch-Mage?" Brelyna kept glancing at J'zargo, obviously unsure of the situation. Vyni shared a look with Onmund, then turned a weary, albeit warm smile to his friends.

"Colette thinks he'll live. He wasn't lying, either, when he said he couldn't remember anything."

"You are worried about him, yes?" J'zargo wouldn't look at him, unraveling a loose string from his sleeve instead. "Why?"

He hadn't thought his concern would be so obvious. Vyni wasn't sure he could tell them, he was sure if word got back to the senior members they would not trust him as their Arch-Mage anymore. Still, these three had been by his side since he'd gotten here - and they probably already knew the basics, at the very least.

"You can't tell anyone else." Vyni crossed his arms over his chest, peering back into the room to see that Ancano was awake again, though he couldn't hear whatever Colette and him were talking about. He carefully closed the door, both to get a little privacy and to also give them some, too. He turned back to his friends, nervous. "Firstly, if you call me Arch-Mage one more time I'm going throw fireballs at all of you. Secondly..."

"You're sleeping with Ancano." Ok, he'd forgotten how blunt Onmund could be.

"Oh my god, that rumor was true?" There was a rumor? Had been a rumor? He'd have to ask Brelyn about that...

"J'zargo is not surprised. He does have a sort of...well, he is not my type, but his face is ok." Vyni could go on and on about how Ancano's face was better than ok, but he settled for a light push on the Khajiit's shoulder and giving him a stern look - or as stern a look as a tiny Bosmer could give.

"Yes, I won't lie to you guys. I've been sleeping with Ancano, and I've come to care about him, even know more about him."

There was a long moment as the three other mages stared at him, before Onmund stepped forward, putting his hands on Vyni's shoulders.

"Vyni, he's a Thalmer, and a bastard, are you sure you want to tell us you care about him?"

"Ancano _is_ a bastard. He's awfully blunt and sarcastic, to the point of sounding angry and bitter all the time. Like you, 'Mund." Vyni chuckled, leaning forward to turn the awkward stare down into a very awkward hug before he stepped back. "That we can agree on. But he's also...gentle. And warm. He can be funny too, and playful sometimes. He's not perfect, but no one is, and I've met far worse than an arrogant man who doesn't like people."

"Arch-Mage?" Vyni jumped, turning to see Colette standing in the now open doorway. He opened his mouth to speak, to beg her to not speak of what he'd just said, certain that she had heard him, but she smiled and shook her head. "He already told me. Also asked me to see if someone could send a letter for him, but he wants to talk to you first. Oh and..."

She hesitated, glancing back into the room, as if she didn't quite want to tell him.

"Colette?" Vyni stepped forward, dropping his voice in hopes that Ancano wouldn't be able to hear them. Colette gave him a look before she stepped away from the room, so that he could enter it.

"I don't think he'll ever be able to see again, Arch-Mage. If that's so, he'll be marked as retired by the Thalmer. It also means we can't just toss him out, as we're responsible for bringing the Eye here."

"...I think I knew that already, and I think Ancano knows, too. Thank you, Colette. Why don't you go with the students and get something to eat?"

After saying a goodbye to his friends - and almost melting into a genuine, sincere hug from Brelyna that he desperately needed - Vyni watched them walk away, and waited to go into the room until they had turned a corner and he could no longer hear them. Ancano was still in bed, entire torso wrapped in bandages. As the Bosmer came in, he pulled the blanket from the bed up over his chest, as if hiding his injuries.

"Vyni?"

"I'm here." He closed the door, being sure to lock it as well, before he hastily made his way over to his lover's bed. He carefully perched at the edge of the bed, gently taking hold of the Altmer's hand. "I'm right here. Are...how are you feeling?"

Ancano's eyes were covered with a thin sheet of white cloth, so jarring against his golden skin. Someone - Colette probably - had cut off the singed end of his hair and tied the remaining locks up into a loose bun. Vyni squeezed the man's hand, wishing he could do more to show him how worried he was. How much he cared.

"I'm...tired."

"No pain?" The Bosmer gently touched the mess of bandages on his lover's chest. With all those burns, he'd think Ancano would be in agony.

"No, no. I mostly just feel...stiff. Colette says its not unusual with such severe burns to not feel the pain, but she warned me that my senses should come back soon."

"And then you'll...well, at least you'll be here, with us. I'll take care of you."

Ancano made a startled sound, head turning to face Vyni. Was it really that shocking to hear about someone caring about the prickly Altmer? Vyni smiled, although he knew the man couldn't see it, and leaned to kiss Ancano - quick, but enough to get across what he wanted to say, but couldn't really find the words to say. Not to his face, anyway.

"Colette told me what happened. What I did. After all that, you're still naïve enough to...want me around?"

"I'm not naïve. I don't claim to know everything, or anything at all, but I do know I still want you to be here. With me. Besides, even if you tried that again, the Eye is gone and I'm stronger than I was before." Their conversation was cut short as someone knocked on the door. Vyni squeezed Ancano's hand once more, then got up to answer the door.

It was J'zargo, carrying a plate of food, and behind him, Onmund with a bottle of wine and two goblets. Apparently, they'd been on to him and knew their frazzled new Arch-Mage hadn't bothered to eat. There was another round of awkward hugs, and a warning from J'zargo to be careful, and Vyni told the two men to go back and enjoy their night, and that he'd see them tomorrow. Finally, he was able to close the door and lock it again, bringing in the food and wine the students had brought him. Ancano was exactly as he'd left him, looking both worried and cross as only an Altmer can look.

Vyni set the items down on the nightstand, joining his lover on the bed once more; this time, he shed the heavy outer cloak of his Arch-Mage robes before slipping beneath the covers with Ancano, careful to be cautious of the man's fragile state. The Altmer just shifted, leaning into the Bosmer's side, somehow managing to tuck himself against him like the pale haired man wasn't as tall as he actually was.

"...I can smell the pheasant roast."

"Hmm?" Vyni lifted his head form where he'd dropped it against the headboard of the bed. He took only a moment to process what his lover had been said, then reached for the plate. He balanced the plate across his legs, reaching over again for the wine and the goblets. Well, one goblet. He planned to drink from the bottle.

"Do you want me to feed you?" He spoke teasingly, but after he'd handed the wine to his lover, he picked up the knife and fork to cut a piece of the roast and offered it to the blinded Altmer.

There was much to do in the coming days, but for now, this night, Vyni was able to set it aside and focus on rebuilding a broken Ancano.


End file.
